Pelecyphora
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| C. Ehrenb. |
Pelecyphora is a genus of plants inthe cactus family (Cactaceae). Its botanical name (from Greek : hatchet bearer ) refers to the hatchet- shaped warts of the originally known species Pelecyphora aselliformis .
description
Pelecyphores are spherical to club-shaped stem succulents up to 6 cm in diameter and gray-green in color. They branch only sparsely and only at an advanced age. The areoles standing on the longitudinally or transversely flattened warts have thorns in a pectinate (comb-shaped) arrangement. With age, the thorns fall off, then the areoles, and finally the warts. Between the warts, the plant bodies are initially densely and briefly covered with wool, so that the vertices are hidden.
The flowers arise individually from short furrows on the tops of the youngest areoles. They are bright purple and about 3 cm long. The greenish fruits that emerge after the blossoms have been fertilized dry out when ripe and release the black seeds into the paring wool, from which they (in nature) are washed out only after a long time.
Systematics and distribution
The genus consists of two species native to Mexico :
- Pelecyphora aselliformis C. Ehrenb.
- Pelecyphora strobiliformis (Werderm.) Frič & Schelle
The type species of the genus is Pelecyphora aselliformis . In the past, two other species were counted to Pelecyphora that are very similar, also have pectinate thorns and / or have flattened warts: Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus (Backeb.) Glass & RAFoster (Syn. Pelecyphora pseudopectinata Backeb. ) And Turbinicarpus valdezianus (H Moeller) Glass & RAFoster ( Syn.Pelecyphora valdeziana H. Moeller ). However, these do not have the furrows typical of Pelecyphora on the tops of the warts from which the flowers arise.
A synonym of the genus is Encephalocarpus A. Berger .
literature
- Edward Frederick Anderson , Norman Hill Boke: The Genus Pelecyphora (Cactaceae): Resolution of a Controversy . In: American Journal of Botany . Volume 56, Number 3, 1969, pp. 314-326, JSTOR 2440854 .
- Norman Hill Boke : Endomorphic and Ectomorphic Characters in Pelecyphora and Encephalocarpus . In: American Journal of Botany . Volume 46, Number 3, 1959, pp. 197-209, JSTOR 2439278 .
- Carl August Ehrenberg : A new genus of cacti . In: Botanische Zeitung . Volume 1, Berlin 1843, Col. 737-738 ( online ).
Web links
- El género Pelecyphora (Spanish)